NEW ORLEANS — Three awards
involving Xavier University of Louisiana tennis were announced Thursday:
•
Yi Chen Pao
was chosen to the Academic All-America® NAIA women's first team
by the College Sports Communicators. Pao completed her fifth and final season at
XULA and is a secondary education graduate student. Her hometown is Taichung City, Taiwan.
•
Jered Wilson
earned the men's ITA NAIA South Region Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship
Award. Wilson — a sophomore from Red Oak, Texas, and a biology/pre-medical major — has 350 community service hours.
During this school year he volunteered at Trinity Community Center,
where he played games with kids and helped them with cooking and their vocabulary homework.
Back home he and church members helped feed the homeless at a tent city.
•
Alan Green
was voted the men's Wilson ITA NAIA South Region Coach of the Year. Green
led the Gold Rush to an 18-7 record, a second consecutive NAIA unaffiliated group tournament championship
and to the quarterfinals of NAIA nationals. The Gold Rush ranked seventh in the final coaches poll.
The region award is Green's fifth with the XULA men
and his seventh overall, including two with the women. This was Green's 20th season as coach
of the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets.
The Academic All-America award recognizes student-athletes for
outstanding achievements in the classroom as well as in competition.
Nominees must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50
cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale, and they must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions. They also must have completed at least one full
calendar year at their current institution and reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
This is the first time that CSC
— formerly known as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) —
offers academic teams consisting solely of tennis players. Previously, tennis was considered
for at-large teams with athletes from many sports.
ITA national awards for 2022-23
will be announced next Thursday (June 8).
